Petals on the Sunny Beach
by Jumofi of the Mad Hare
Summary: <html><head></head>In the small town of Iwatobi, fate brings five girls to the swim club and its members. The dandere, the American fresh meat, the tsundere, the explorer, and the princess. How will their year turn out? Sassy Ella Takemono wants nothing more than a popular high school life as she moves into a small town. But what's the risk of popularity over friends? And why is she drawn to Nagisa?</html>


Chapter One:

When I say I like my sleep that means that I don't want to be woken up as if the tsunami sirens were going off in our area. And since today was my first day at high school I did not want anyone to scream my name at six in the morning. Apparently no one respects me...

"Onee-san! ONEE-SAN! GET UP!" my two little brothers screamed in my ears.

I sat up with my eyes all crusty and half-opened.

"Hey-hey, onee-san! Look at us! We have uniforms!" they exclaimed.

Daniel (the monkey) was hanging onto me like I was a tree. His twin dweeb, Tachi, sat next to me yanking my sleeve. I grumbled under my breath.

"Onee-SAN!"

Daniel poked my eye and giggled to himself. Tachi was about to do the same when I grabbed both of their collars and pulled them out of my bed. I dragged them out into the hall then to Mom and Dad's room, kicking their door open and shouting," Mom! Dad! The stork came and finally shipped in your love children!"

The two ran up and jumped onto their bed repeating, "Love children! Ha-ha! We're your love children!"

"Nighty-night!" I sang as I shut the door.

Once I was back in bed I shut my eyes and relaxed. My blankets were still fluffy, my pillow soft...then my alarm goes off.

"Da-mnit!"

I pounded it as hard as I could then got up. In the mirror I looked like hell. It was because of those brats that I was cranky and disgusting looking. Ugh...

The first thing I did was run to the bathroom and splash some water on my face. It didn't take long to get my make-up on with my annoying brothers out of the way. I was pretty relieved to have enough time to get dressed. When i was about to leave my room, Daniel and Tachi snuck behind me and shouted, "Onee-san looks pretty! But her skirt's short!"

Tachi hunched over to look up my skirt.

"I can see your panties, Sis!" Tachi said.

"Ha-ha! We can see your panties!"

Daniel grabbed my underwear from underneath my skirt and pulled. I screamed at the top of my lungs.

"Mom! MOM!"

Mom came in just as they were heading for the door.

"Mom, get them out of my room!"

"Okay, you two! Daddy's downstairs with breakfast! Go ask him for some."

"O-kay!"

I crossed my arms and replied, "Really? You won't do anything besides letting them off the hook?"

"What else can I do, sweety? They're kids. They don't know any better."

I pouted my lip at her.

"Hey, grumble all you want, but that's all I'm doing.

"Now, about you..."

She stepped behind me to look into the mirror at my reflection. I kept my arms crossed while Mom brushed off some lint on my shoulders then went on to pulling my hair into a ponytail. Mom had done that for me when I was little but she stopped after a while. So why she was doing it now seemed really weird.

"There's my baby girl."

"Mo-om..!"

"Oh, whatever.."

She grabbed my bag and shoved me out of the room. Mom knew I didn't like that but she did it anyway. What the heck was up with her today?

"Dar-ling!" she called out to Dad.

"Ye-es?"

"Is everything okay in there?"

Both of us walked into the kitchen. We could smell the scent of bacon cooking on the stove from out in the hall, and I thought, _Oh, great! Dad's gone overboard..._

I swear, he always does this when Mom's excited in the morning. Couldn't they tone down the "Happy Couple" thing for just a minute? Dad had used half our egg carton and a pack of bacon for breakfast, and then we found him pulling out milk and yogurt cups for everybody.

"There's my two favorite girls!" he said.

"Need any help, dear?"

"Nope. I've got everything covered here!"

I rolled my eyes when Mom walked up and kissed Dad. You'd expect parents here to be less affectionate in front of people but these two were a special case. Whenever someone brought up the UK or how they met, Mom and Dad would sit everyone down and share their story. Yeah, by now all our neighbors knew that they "met one morning in London heading in the opposite directions. They happened to bump shoulders, and then caught glances. After that they dated for a year and finally married the following spring." No matter how many times I heard that story I couldn't get over the urge to gag. Love stories never interested me...

"Oh, before you go, sweetie, " Mom replied, "I need you to take your brothers to school first."

I stood up with my empty plate and walked to the sink. Mom just kept calling out my name.

"Okay, Ella? You'll take your brothers to school, right?"

I put on a fake grin and replied, "Y-yeah, Mom..."

_No-freaking-way! You've got to be joking! I had to walk my brothers to school on the first day?! 'Ya-da!'_

"Sis! Onee-san!"

My brothers pulled on my sleeves calling out my name since we turned the block. People passing by turned their heads as we walked, either glaring or whispering to each other. I would've just ran into the street if I didn't have Tweedle-Dum and Tweedle-Dweeb holding me down! The only thing worse than this would be someone from the high school seeing me and telling everyone all about the "girl with two loud brothers on the street". What would that say about me? Nothing good! I'd be a loser, an outcast, a nobody! And I'm innocent for God's sake!

"Onee-san! Where're we goin'?"

"Where's the school?"

"Enough! We'll get there when we get there!"

The last thing I expected was sabotage to the max from these two. Both of them let go of my arms to ball up their fists and wipe away tears streaming down their cheeks.

"On-eeee-san..you don't have to yell..at us..."

"Yeah..we'll behave better.."

I heard a lady on my right hiss under her breath, "Rotten teenager! You shouldn't yell at your siblings for no reason!"

"Aww, why're you two crying? Are you two scared for your first day at school?" I said in a fake, sweet voice.

I patted their heads and tried my best to keep the smile on my face. Other people on the street were still staring but it saved me from being mocked for being a horrible sister. When the moment came I snatched them up and ran as fast as I could to the elementary school.

As I caught my breath at the school entrance, the two started walking away with the other kids.

"Oh, no..you two d-hon't!" I exclaimed.

They turned around, both grinning from cheek to cheek. Daniel then piped up, "Thanks for walkin' us, Onee-san! Did you like our performance?"

"Never..do..that..again!"

"Hehehe. Onee-san, you look a little tired."

"Get to class!" I snapped.

Daniel and Tachi skipped away giggling to themselves. The next time those two do something like that-

I heard the school bell from the high school start to ring once the dweebs had left. After running all the way to the elementary school, I had to run to the high school in under five minutes?

"Agh! When will this day end?!"

Thank God I made it inside before I was written up. The worst I got was a lecture from some fat guy that turned out to be my homeroom teacher. Like I'd get on his bad side again when his breath was putrid!

My classroom wasn't as big as I'd pictured it. Most of these people were the quiet type, and then in the back was some rowdy girls giggling and sneaking their cell phones under their desks. They seemed cool, but I'd rather keep away from them since Tubbo was gonna eye-ball me for a while. He wouldn't suspect me of anything if I were next to a world-class nerd. Or just someone I could get Math help from.

The teacher introduced me to the classroom without letting me speak. All I could do was just stand and look pretty for "the audience". Then he just pointed me to a desk near the wall. Was it the uniform that made me look like some pushover? 'Cuz I sure didn't put off that kind of attitude.

When I sat down, the girl next to me pushed her glasses up onto the bridge of her nose. I took a look at her.

_Hey, she doesn't seem too bad. Yeah, she looks pretty smart. I'll tag along her so that Lord Lumps lays off me. _

I mean, you should have seen her. Her hair was long and teal, her bottle cap glasses kept sliding off her nose and she's hardly said anything to me so far. She is a hundred percent nerd, and I knew it. And teacher's like nerds!

Soon after Bubble Butt left I sat back and tried not to doze off taking notes. The sun was bright and the weather was so perfect for going outside, but here I had to sit and watch the teacher write algebra-like stuff on the board. If only schools could teach outside on days like this.

"Hazuki, will you write the answer on the board?"

" 'Hai!' "

I woke up in the middle of class when I heard someone across from me answer the teacher. I looked around for the time and to the board. When I saw that I'd missed an hour of class I bursted out loud, "Eh?!"

Then all eyes were on me. _Oh, great! There's no way I'm gettin' out of this one!_

"Ms. Takemono, what is the problem?" the teacher asked me.

I stood up to face her as I tried to think of an excuse. I could tell her a bird outside nearly hit the window or someone in the hall-

"Ms. Takemono!"

"I-I thought there was something wrong with the problem..on the board.."

_Would that work? Would she buy it?_

"Oh? Then would you care to put your answer on the board?"

_Nope! No I wouldn't!_

So far I've been able to play off as a care-free newbie, but this was out of control. I've dug a hole for myself too deep to climb out of. As I walked up to the board, I prepared myself for the humiliation to come.

"Good luck," the kid up there whispered to me.

I snatched the piece of chalk he handed to me. _Is he trying to make fun of me?_

He looked at me with a dumb grin. Blonde hair, pink eyes, and an inch shorter than me..Ye-eah, no. No..he's-

_We happened to bump shoulders that day, and our eyes met-_

I turned away from him as the teacher barked at me to "go ahead". It was strange to me that Mom's story suddenly popped into my head especially since this guy was the one who reminded me of it. How-Why was that?

The boy went back to his seat and left me behind. My eyes turned to the board, my palms sweaty and my hand shaking in the process. If only I'd been awake for the first half of the class, then I'd be able to know how to solve this!

I slowly wrote half the problem while trying to remember the rest. When I stopped, the silence from the class filled my ears like someone were shrieking in them. I couldn't focus-my mind was so blank that I started panicking. My eyes darted to the right. The clock-no, no help there. Could someone give me a simple sign at the very least?!

That's when I saw that girl's, the "nerd", hands forming an x then a y...Oh!

I wrote the rest of the equation on the board then turned to the teacher. She nodded at me then said, "Correct..Very good, Ms. Takemono. Just try not to make sudden outbursts, would you?"

_Yes! This was my first step to popularity. I'll need to do something else to catch attention for sure! But this is what I call progress._

As I sat back down I heard others whispering about me. Some of the guys could have at least remembered my name, but the girls in the back spoke in serious, hushed voices. Catching their attention meant that I could at least make some friends today. Ah, it's good to be me...

When the lunch bell rang everyone left to go get food from the cafe stand. The girl next to me pulled out a small bento that had decor for the luxurious. I wondered if she were rich or something with the delicately arranged food. Man, was that some expensive looki-

"Is there something that you need, Takemono-san?"

"Huh?"

Then I realized that the girl caught me oggling her bento.

"Uh-u-nothing! Nope..just dozed off is all..."

"Oh, alright.."

She held out her chopsticks and dug into the rice. That reminded me that I had to go buy food outside. I heard that there was a specialty with jam or cream. Seeing as I was successful in class today, I thought I'd treat myself.

"Um..Takemono-san?"

I turned around.

"I'm glad that you were able to solve the problem...from earlier..."

"O-oh yeah. Um, thanks...for helpin' me," I mumbled.

She gently smiled at me. The way she did that really let on that she was high class. Man, it must feel good to live in that kind of luxury.

As I stepped outside the classroom, someone else called out my name. I thought it was that girl again until I saw the girls from class run up to me.

"Uh, hi," I said.

"Yeah, hi...Listen, did you seriously just talk to the Ice Princess?"

"Who?"

'Michiko Ryuko. The girl you sit next to?"

"What about her?"

"I'm not sure if we should tell you, but she's bad news."

"How?"

"Well, she's rich. And her family owns so many different companies," another said.

"Yeah, and if you make her upset, her grandmother can do something bad.

"Like, this one time, one of our friends accidentally bumped into her, and her grandmother got involved with the school. Next thing we know she was expelled and sent to another school.

"And, this other time, someone accidentally dropped some paint on her and they had to move out the next week because their parents were transferred to a different job."

"Yeah," their leader replied, "so you better not make friends with her or else."

"Alright, thanks."

The girls walked away with odd smiles on their faces. I don't know if it was just the harbor boat's fumes getting into their heads, but I just had to be sure to keep clear of them. Gossipy girls like them were always the worst...then again...

I finally got to the cafe stand and I couldn't believe that it was chocked full with other people. There were so many basketball players blocking the way that I was shoved to the ground before getting in line. It was so crowded for a small town high school.

Ten minutes had passed before I could crawl my way underneath for and it was surprising that they weren't paying attention to me and my awesome skills. But when I got up to the front, the special breads were gone.

"Is there no more of this bread?" I asked the lunch lady.

"Sorry, but I sold the last of it to the boy over there."

Of-course..it was Honey Head. I could see his blonde bob over the top of the new crowd coming in. As quick as I could I grabbed the first sandwich I saw and handed over whatever yen I had. That guy wasn't gonna get away with this!

It took awhile before I could spot him again. The other people coming in spat me out after tossing me around in the center of the crowd. I had to push them off of me to make a path, and then it became a clear road for me. The first thing I did was follow after Blondie towards the main building I saw him skip to. Past the baseball field I found him again opening the doors to the school section. So I hurried then saw him at the end of the hallway going up the stairs. The second floor wasn't as busy but I ran down that way to find him. Others stared at me, whispering about why a first year was in their hall. That's when I realized that he wasn't here. If he was, then they would've said something about him.

I went back up the stairs and to the top floor. This time I stuck near the staircase. Nope, no blondes here. The only other option was to climb up to the rooftop where only a few people gutsy enough went. Or if they were geeks. It'd make perfect sense if it were him.

Victory was mine when I finally caught him talking with his friend on the roof. No one was gonna stop me now.

"Oi! 'Shota'!" I shouted to him.

And there he was, stuffing his cheeks with the bread, looking at me like a deer caught in the headlights.

"Oh, that girl from class!"

"Yeah, that's right! And you're the one who took my sweet bread!" I exclaimed as I stormed over.

"Huh?"

"I wanted one of those breads and you took the last two!"

"Oh...sorry..."

_Seriously? Are you joking? You're sorry?! That's all you can say to me?!_

I was just about to call him out when someone snuck up and asked me, "Takemono..Ella?"

"Who's aski-"

I literally gasped and squealed, "Kasumi! It's so good to finally see a familiar face!"

Oh-my-God was I excited to see her after so long. The last time I saw her was when Dad came here to visit a friend. His friend had a daughter my age with frail, blue hair and bright, sapphire eyes. We only got to play for two-three days around the beach before I had to leave. And now both of us were here together again!

"I know, it's been-"

"A couple of years. You've gotten taller..."

It just dawned on me that she never liked anyone talking about her height. Now that I just said that, I had to keep up my fake smile. But by now she would've seen past that...dangit...

"Um, you remember Kou-san, right?"

Now the day was better. Kou was one of the neighborhood kids I met besides Kasumi, and she looked just the same from way back when. I called out, "Kou! Look who's back, baby!"

All of us got together in a circle to talk. But I wish Kasumi didn't waste her time on that guy when she apologized on "my behalf". It was his fault I got after him...I got over that quickly and joined in the conversation of what our years were like after we last met. By far mine was the most impressive. I was the only one who traveled the farthest (which would be out of the country) and who could speak a different language (but that wasn't as cool. Lots of people could speak English in Japan, right?). It wasn't until a new face came back with Magenta Eyes' friend and sat down in between Kasumi and me. Kasumi called her Samantha. Well, I probably could impress her with my English.

"So, are you a newbie, too?" I asked.

Hook.

"U-uh yeah..am I that popular around here?"

"Puh-lease. This is just a small town. They're impressed with just about anybody..Like me.."

Line.

"Where'd you move from?"

"Oh, y'know," I said in English, "the UK, then some other town away...then here.."

"No way!" she replied back.

And sinker! Damn, I'm good!

Good thing I did befriend Samantha. She was from America-Tennessee, believe it or not! And she was tall. She could do a lot with that height. Plus, Americans had lots of bulk in their muscles. If what Dad said was true, then I could go to her for help. Not that..I'd get myself into trouble that is...

What really surprised me was that both Kasumi and Samantha were a year ahead of me. With Kasumi's height it made her look younger, but Samantha could have come from junior high and still look like an adult to me. But after lunch I had to go back to my class, running into Hazuki on the way in. God, was he annoying.

It felt like forever until the last bell rang. Ugh, all of that class time daydreaming and jotting notes is too boring. Maybe when gym class comes up it'll wake me up. That should be fun..

"Have a nice day, Takemono-san, "Michiko said.

I might've been able to talk to her if she hadn't slipped out the door like Speed Racer. While picking up my stuff the same girls from before waved at me. I waved back, then they followed after Michiko.

As I watched them go, my notebook fell off my desk. I picked it up, dusting the dirt off, and just as I was gonna put it away there was a flash of ink on one of the pages. I flipped to that page.

The note left in it was written by someone in stylish kanji. It read:

_"I copied the notes you missed in Calculus today. But please don't push yourself over the limit. The first day is always the hardest. If you need any help, you can ask me whenever you need._

_ Michiko Ryuko."_

That was weird. If she supposedly is the "Ice Princess", then why was she being so friendly? Is this just her way of picking on me, or is there something going on that I don't know about?


End file.
